Linton and Clarke and Anor

The parties to this proceeding were Mr Linton and Clarke (the Applicant) and Mr Headley (the Respondent), along with an interested party. The dispute concerned an application to set aside Consent Orders pursuant to s 79A of the Family Law Act. The matter came before McClelland DCJ.

The court was required to determine whether to grant the Applicant leave to send further letters to single expert valuers requesting supplementary reports. These reports were to address whether certain events between December 2013 and February 2014 impacted the value of specific businesses and properties, and if so, to provide updated valuations. The court also needed to make orders regarding the provision of agreed or party-generated statements of facts to these valuers.

McClelland DCJ reasoned that allowing the supplementary reports, subject to the Applicant meeting the costs, was appropriate to ensure the valuers had all relevant information to assess the impact of events on business and property values at the specified dates. The court applied the Family Court Rules 2004, specifically rules 15.54(3) and 15.54(4)(a), concerning the provision of statements of fact to single expert valuers. The court ordered that the parties confer within seven days to attempt to reach an agreed statement of facts, and if unsuccessful, each party could provide their own statement, potentially attaching relevant documents.

The application in a case filed on 29 April 2020 was dismissed. The court granted the Applicant leave to send further letters to single expert valuers for supplementary reports on specific businesses and properties, contingent on the Applicant meeting the cost of the additional work. The parties were ordered to confer on an agreed statement of facts for the valuers within seven days, with liberty to provide individual statements if agreement could not be reached.